Speculative Fiction Links of the Week for December 13, 2024

 

It's time for the latest weekly round-up of interesting links about speculative fiction from around the web, this week with the best SFF books of 2024, Star Trek Lower Decks and Star Trek in general, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Star Wars in general, season 7 of Outlander, Dune Prophecy, What We Do in the Shadows, Arcane, The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, Silo, Nightbitch, Wicked, Kraven the Hunter, Y2K, Dream Productions, Secret Level and much more.

Speculative fiction in general:

• Reactor shares twenty-two wintery SFF books to enjoy. 
• Alex Brown shares must-read speculative short fiction for November 2024. 
• Molly Templeton declares that indie and small press SFF may not always be easy to find, but is well worth it.
  
• Ted Chiang talks about the distinction between imaginary science and magic.
• James Davis Nicoll shares five science fiction stories about space traders and transport.
  
• James Davis Nicoll shares five SFF stories featuring extremely bad parenting.
  
• Chelsea Iversen lists books featuring magical or poisonous gardens. 
• Elisa Shoenberger shares five unique, contemporary adaptations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
• Olivia Rutigliano reminds us that Charles Dickens wrote Christmas ghost stories other then "A Christmas Carol"
  
• Locus reports that the African Science Fiction Society has investigated the complaints against Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and cleared him. 
  
• George R.R. Martin remembers Trent Zelazny. 
• Philosopher and science fiction scholar Anand Vaidya has died aged 48. 
  

 

Best of 2024:

• The Reactor reviewers share their favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror books of 2024.
  
• Amal El-Mohtar shares her favourite science fiction and fantasy books of 2024. 
• Drew Broussard shares his favourite science fiction, fantasy and horror books of 2024. 
• Gabino Iglesias shares his favourite horror novels of 2024. 
• Paste Magazine share their ten favourite science fiction movies of 2024.
  
• Paste Magazine share their 25 favourite horror movies of 2024.
  

 

Comics and Art:

• Brad Hawley reviews Sunburn by Andi Watson and Simon Gane
• John Coulthart shares his appreciation for the surrealist fantasy art of Jean Ransy.
  

 

Film and TV:

• Leah Schnelbach calls Interior Chinatown a fun and heartfelt adaptation of Charles Yu’s amazing novel
  
• Isaiah Colbert declares that the final season of Beastars proves that even an established anime series can continue to evolve and surprise its audience.
• Diana Keng shares episodes by episode reviews of Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld.
• Arturo Serrano calls Rumours an acerbic science fiction satire.
  
• Leslie Felperin calls The Universal Theory a chilly science fiction noir from Germany. 
• Jim Vorel calls The Damned a chilly horror film from Iceland. 
• Aaron Jones shares his thoughts on the new Nosferatu. 
  
• Cath Clarke calls The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland a charming animated holiday film. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido declares that the new version of The Crow was doomed from the start. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on Subservience.
  
• Amber Dubin revisits the 1969 horror anthology series Night Gallery.
  
• Cheryl Eddy revisits the 1986 horror movie Neon Maniacs. 
• Keith R.A. DeCandido revisits the 1995 Babylon 5 episode “Acts of Sacrifice”
  
• Mike Stoklasa and Jack Quaid revisit the 1999 science fiction comedy Galaxy Quest.
  
• Isaiah Colbert revisits the 2003 science fiction anime Planetes. 
• Kali Wallace revisits the 2003 South Korean science fiction film Save the Green Planet! 
  
• Ruthanna Emrys and Anne M. Pillsworth revisit the 2007 horror movie The Mist.
  
• Jonathan Klotz revisits the 2012 science fiction adventure movie John Carter and explains why it failed so miserably.
  
• C.T. Phipps recommends eight cyberpunk movies. 
• Lilliam Rivera shares five horror movies featuring killer jobs,.
• Lorna Wallace shares her favourite shapeshifter characters from film and TV.
  
• Doctor Who showrunners Steven Moffat and Russell T. Davies talk about the impact of AI on the film and TV industry.
• Isaiah Colbert reports that Dan Da Dan finds itself at the centre of an absurd culture war about fans reimagining anime characters as black.
• Jesse Hassenger wonders why the Moana films became such a phenomenon.
  
• Ben Child wonders whether the live action Snow White will be a new low for Disney, based on its terrible looking trailer. 
• Katie Kilkenny reports that the Animation Guild is planning to vote "no" on a proposed tentative deal.
  
• Andrew Pulver reports that actor Jim Carrey came out of retirement to voice a character in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , because he needed the money.
  
• Actor Mark Withers, best remembered for his roles in Dynasty, Hart to Hart, Criminal Minds, Sense8, Stranger Things and many other, has died aged 77.
  

 

Comments on Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek in general:

• James Whitbrook shares his thoughts on “Fissure Quest'”, the latest episode of Star Trek Lower Decks.
  
• Avery Kaplan shares her thoughts on "Fissure Quest”, the latest episode of Star Trek Lower Decks.
• Keith R.A. DeCandido shares his thoughts on “Fissure Quest”, the latest episode of Star Trek Lower Decks.
• James Whitbrook shares his favourite moment in "Fissure Quest".
  
• Avery Kaplan shares five reasons to watch Star Trek Prodigy 
• Ryan Britt interviews Morgan Grendel, screenwriter for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Isolation. 
  
• Marah Eakin explains how the original Star Trek helped to make midcentury modern the dominant science fiction aesthetic. 
• Jennifer McLogan reports about a woman from Huntington, New York, who keeps getting traffic tickets from all over the US, because her car used to have the custom licence plate NCC-1701, which is also popular for decorative novelty plates, which some people are using illegally. 
• Watch a trailer for Star Trek Section 31.
  

 

Comments on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Star Wars in general: 

• Jack Seale calls Star Wars: Skeleton Crew excellent fun
• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on “Very Interesting, as an Astrogation Problem”, the latest episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. 
• Rafael Motomayor shares his thoughts on “Very Interesting, as an Astrogation Problem”, the latest episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.  
• Germain Lussier shares his thoughts on “Very Interesting, as an Astrogation Problem”, the latest episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.   
• Adam Blevins interviews Jon Watts and Christopher Ford, creators of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. 
• James Whitbrook discusses how Star Wars: Skeleton Crew references some of the old Marvel Star Wars comics from the 1970s and 1980s. 
  
• James Whitbrook wonders how successful Grand Admiral Thrawn actually was in taking over the Star Wars Universe.
  

 

Comments on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general:

• Umberto Gonzalez reports that Chris Evans will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.
• Watch a clip featuring Deadpool, Kidpool and Lynda Carter asking for donations for a charity for sick kids.
  

 

Comments on season 7 of Outlander: 

• Hunter Ingram shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Outlander.
  

 

Comments on What We Do in the Shadows: 

• William Hughes shares his thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do In the Shadows.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of What We Do In the Shadows.

 

Comments on The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim:

• Germain Lussier calls The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim awesome, but still slightly underwhelming 
• Radheyan Simonpillai calls The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review a redundant, flavourless animated fantasy film. 
• Matt Goldberg declares that The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim feels more inspired by Game of Thrones than The Lord of the Rings. 
• Matt Schimkowitz declares that The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim gallops down a well-trodden path.
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Philippa Boyens, co-writer of The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim.
• Kristy Ambrose lists the seven strongest female characters in Middle Earth.

 Comments on Dune Prophecy and Dune in general:

• Emmet Asher-Perrin shares their thoughts on the latest episode of Dune Prophecy.
• Brian Tallerico shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Dune Prophecy.
• Cheryl Eddy shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Dune Prophecy. 
• Paul Levinson shares his thoughts on the latest episode of Dune Prophecy.
• Cheryl Eddy declares that the toxic sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen are the best thing about Dune Prophecy.
  
• Christian Holub reports that Dune Prophecy will show us a glimpse of the Butlerian Jihad, the war against artificial intelligences in the Dune universe,
  

 

Comments on Arcane: 

• Isaiah Colbert interviews Amanda Overton, writer of Arcane.
• Isaiah Colbert reports that actress Ella Purnell, who plays Jinx in Arcane and Lucy in Fallout, is worried about becoming typecast after starring in two videogame adaptations.
  

 

Comments on Kraven the Hunter: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Kraven the Hunter a laborious superhero yarn 
• Germain Lussier calls Kraven the Hunter a headache that will leave you craving some Aspirin.
  
• Jesse Hassenger declares that the Sony Spider-Villain series goes out on top (sort of) with Kraven The Hunter
  
• Ben Child wonders if Kraven the Hunter is the last chance for Sony’s Spider-Man universe. 
• William Hughes shares some background on the character of Kraven the Hunter in the Spider-Man comics. 
• Germain Lussier notes that several other Spider-Man villains put in cameo appearances in Kraven the Hunter.
  

 

 Comments on Wicked: 

• Sabine Graves reports about a scene cut from Wicked.
  
• Sabina Graves reports that some cinemas are offering sing-along screenings of Wicked after some audience members annoyed the rest of the audience by singing along with the songs.
  

 

Comments on Silo: 

• Saloni Gajjar shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.
• Melody McCune shares her thoughts on the latest episode of Silo.
  

 

Comments on Y2K:

• Ann Michelle Harris calls Y2K a retro comedy slasher adventure that struggles to connect with its intended audience.
  
• Brianna Zigler calls Y2K a shallow horror comedy. 
• Jesse Hassenger declares that Y2K demonstrates director Kyle Mooney's obsession with the 1990s. 
  
• Germain Lussier interviews Kyle Mooney, director of Y2K. 

 

 Comments on Nightbitch: 

• Peter Bradshaw calls Nightbitch a muzzled fantasy satire.
• Natalia Keogan declares that monstrous motherhood has never been more mundane than in Nightbitch.
  
• Zoe Williams interviews Marielle Heller and Amy Adams, director and star of Nightbitch.
  

 

Comments on Dream Productions: 

• Tara Bennett calls Dream Productions is a meta, slightly muddled Inside Out spin-off
• Lucy Mangan calls Dream Productions a joyous TV version of Inside Out
  

 

Comments on Secret Level:

• Justin Carter declares that Secret Level has its heart in the right place, but hasn't grown into its best self. 
• Cassie Holguin shares her thoughts on episode 1 of Secret Level. 
• Cassie Holguin shares her thoughts on episode 2 of Secret Level.

 

Awards:

• The winner of the 2024 Diagram Prize for the Oddest Book Title of the Year has been announced. 
• The finalists for the 2024 Golden Globes have been announced.
  
• The TV nominations for the 2024 Critics Choice Awards have been announced.
• Ella Creamer reports that many literary awards are under fire by pressure groups for the supposed moral failings of their sponsors.
  

Writing, publishing and promotion: 

• Tracy Clark explains how she creates villainous characters. 
• Ella Creamer reports that the UK Society of Authors calls for celebrity memoir ghostwriters to be credited 
  
• David Brand and Ramsey Khalifeh report that employees at the famous Strand bookstore in New York City have gone on strike to demand higher wages.
• John Maher reports that the strike at the Strand bookstore in New York City has ended, because the management and the union came to a tentative agreement.
  

 

Interviews:

• Lily Ford interviews George R.R. Martin.
• James Smart interviews Brandon Sanderson. 
• Suspense Magazine interviews Charlaine Harris. 
  
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Juliet E. McKenna. 
• Scott Edelman interviews R.S.A. Garcia. 
• Runalong the Shelves interviews Xueting C. Ni
  
• Stewart A. Shearer interviews Matthew Corry.
  

 

Reviews:

• Chris Kluwe reviews Translation State by Ann Leckie
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Lady Eve’s Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow
  
• Marlene Harris reviews How to Steal a Galaxy by Beth Revis 
• C.T. Phipps reviews Space Punks 3 by Anne Mocikat 
  
• Marlene Harris reviews Orbital by Samantha Harvey 
• Jenny Hamulton reviews The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
  
• Paul Weimer reviews The Wolf and the Wild King by K. V. Johansen  
• Esmay Rosalyne reviews The Company of the Wolf by David Wragg
• Jake Casella Brookins reviews A Hunger With No Name by Lauren C. Teffeau
  
• Runalong the Shelves reviews We Are All Ghosts In The Forest by Lorraine Wilson
• Alexandra Pierce reviews The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois by Ryan Graudin
  
• Grimdark Magazine reviews The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
• Phoebe Wagner reviews Metal from Heaven by August Clarke
  
• Maya Gittelman reviews The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb. 
  
• Niall Harrison reviews Darkome by Hannu Rajaniemi  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews Memorials by Richard Chizmar
  
• Tobias Carroll reviews Model Home by Rivers Solomon.
  
• Rob Bedford reviews How To Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie
  
• Doreen Sheridan reviews A New Lease On Death by Olivia Blacke 
  
• Colleen Mondor reviews Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron 
• Alex Brown reviews Dead Girls Don’t Dream by Nino Cipri 
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. Morrow 
• Arturo Serrano reviews The Assimilated Cuban's Guide to Quantum Santeria by Carlos Hernandez.
• Gary K. Wolfe reviews The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2024, edited by Hugh Howey and John Joseph Adams
  
• James Davis Nicoll reviews New Adventures in Space Opera by Jonathan Strahan
  
   
  

Classics reviews:

• Brian Collins revisits the 1885 ghost story “The Phantom ‘Rickshaw” by Rudyard Kipling 
  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1962 gothic novel Pippin’s Journal by Rohan O’Grady
• James Davis Nicoll revisits the 1965 Dominic Flandry space opera collection Agent of the Terran Empire by Poul Anderson  
• Sandy Ferber revisits the 1969 cosmic horror novel Bury Him Darkly by John Blackburn
  
• John Boston revisits the January 1970 issue of Amazing.
• Kris Vyas-Myall revisits the January 1970 issue of Visions of Tomorrow.
  
• Paperback Warrior revisits the 1970 Conan sword and sorcery story "The People of the Summit" by Björn Nyberg.
  
• Young People Read Old SFF revisits the 1973 science fiction story "With Morning Comes Mistfall" by George R. R. Martin
• Alan Brown revisits the 1987 science fiction novel The Smoke Ring by Larry Niven 
• Kat Hooper revisits the 2003 urban fantasy novel Tinker by Wen Spencer
  
• James Tivendale revisits the 2009 Stormlight Archive fantasy novel Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson.
  
• Alex Brown revisits the 2012 Books of the Raksura fantasy novels The Serpent Sea and The Siren Depths by Martha Wells.
   
  

Crowdfunding:

• Midnight, the cat of SFF writer Marshall Ryan Maresca's son, urgently needs funding for emergency surgery.
  

 

Con and event reports:

• Mike Glyer shares an update about ConKigali, the bid for the 2028 Worldcon in Kigali, Rwanda.
• The 2024 Smofcon in Seattle, Washington, has shared the replied of various Worldcon and Smofcon bids to a questionnaire they sent out. 
• Vincent Docherty shares an update about future Worldcon and Smofcon bids.
  
• Mike Glyer reports that the 2027 Worldcon bid for Tel Aviv, Israel, has been withdrawn and is planning to bid again in another year. 
• Adrian Horton reports about the Imaginary Books exhibition in Manhattan, New York. 
  
• Dalya Alberge reports that Paul McCartney and Isaac Asimov were collaborating on a science fiction musical film in the 1970s.
  

 

Science and technology:

• Virginia Postrel explains where the techno-optimism of the mid twentieth century went wrong.
  
• Pallab Ghosh reports that NASA's Artemis flight around the Moon has been delayed again.
  
• Geoff Brumfiel reports that Donald Trump has appointed Jason Isaacman, a billionaire with ties to SpaceX, as  director of NASA.
• Gideon Marcus shares the latest space news from 1969.
• Ian Sample reports that many scientists are calling for halting research into so-called mirror microbes, because these might cause lethal and impossible to treat infections in humans and animals.
  
• Joshua Corin explains why AI shouldn't be used to solve crimes.
  

 

Gaming: 

• Cass Marshall reports that the RPG Caves of Qud has finally launched after fifteen years of early access.
• Tim Clare talks about his love for boardgames. 
• Calum Marsh interviews Troy Baker, who voices the titular character in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
  
• Keza MacDonald reports how Sony allowed users to save its mobile game Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp after discontinuing support.  
  
• Emanuel Maiberg reports about the unauthorised effort to archive Netflix's vanished interactive programming.
  

 

Toys and collectibles:

• For Eternia reviews the Mattel Masters of the Universe Cartoon Collection Tri-Klops and Hordak action figures.
  
• Pixel Dan reviews the Formo Toys Legends of Dragonore Ignytor action figure.
• Tyler Roberts shares a look at the new Spider-Man wave of Hasbro's Marvel Legends line. 
• Emma Keates shares a look at some upcoming Funko Pop figures based on Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
  
• Koh Ewe reports that replicas of some swords used in the Harry Potter films have been found in violation of Japan's strict weapons laws. 
• The BBC reports that a British Star Wars fan was forced to auction off his rare collection after losing his job. 
• Cheryl Eddy reports that a full scale replica of Nosferatu's sarcophagus is available as a bed.
  

 

Free online fiction: 

• "Last Man Standing" by C. L. Werner in Swords and Heroes.
  
• "Cast No Shadow" by Cameron MacLeod in Swords and Sorcery Magazine.
• "The Geckomancer’s Lament" by Lauren Beukes in Uncanny Magazine  
• "Wait, Our Lord the Flayed One Comes" by Tania Chen in Nightmare Magazine. 
  
• "P is for Phantasies" by Steve Rasnic Tem in The Dark.
• "A Catalog of 21st Century Ghosts" by Pat Murphy in Lightspeed.  
• "Sleeping Beauty and the Restless Realm" by Lincoln Michel in Lightspeed. 
  
• "The Painted Skin and the Final Stroke" by Zhu Yixuan in Clarkesworld. 
• "Souljacker" by Shari Paul in Clarkesworld.
• "Gravediggers" by Nat Nguyen in The Deadlands.
  
• "Songs of the Snow Whale" by K.A. Teryna, translated by Alex Shvartsman, in Reactor.
  
• "Apologoi" by Alex Irvine in The Sunday Morning Transport.
  

Trailers and videos:

• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Castlevania: Nocturne.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Invincible. 
• Watch a trailer for season 5 of Harley Quinn.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of The Wheel of Time. 
• Watch a trailer for The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
  
• Watch a trailer for The Gorge.
  
• Watch a trailer for season 2 of Severance.
• Watch a trailer for season 3 of Yellowjackets. 
• Watch a trailer for 28 Years Later.